Stunned villagers are finding that governments have been leasing land, often for decades. The half-dozen strangers who descended on this remote West African village brought its hand-to-mouth farmers alarming news: their humble fields, tilled from one generation to the next, were now controlled by Libya's leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and the farmers would all have to leave. “They told us this would be the last rainy season for us to cultivate our...

Cutting carbon emissions: Scores of rich countries made pledges over the last year to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 under the Copenhagen accord but they were not incorporated in the official UN process. Cancun now formally puts those pledges into UN documentation, although they may increase or decrease in future. For the first time, developing countries also agreed to look at how they can cut emissions in the future...

The UN climate summit reached the Cancun Agreement here early Saturday - but there was no mention of the extent to which industrialised countries would commit to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's commitment period ends.Nor was there any agreement on a second commitment period of the protocol, only a decision to keep talking about it. The Kyoto Protocol is currently the only legally binding...

India's position is seen as a move to boost image, but it has little support from allies.India's attempt to be part of a climate change solution was reflected in a major departure from stated policy on Wednesday, when Minister for Environment Jairam Ramesh said all countries must take on binding commitments in an appropriate legal form. He was speaking at the plenary of the high level segment of the United...

One person in four worldwide paid bribe during the past year while 54 per cent Indians said they greased the palms of authorities to get things done, says a study released on Thursday to mark International Anti-Corruption Day."Corruption has increased over the last three years, say six out of 10 people around the world, and one in four people report paying bribes in the last year," the Berlin-based non-governmental agency,...